Sunday, August 23, 2009

Hello fellow critics/hecklers/horse-beaters, I'm thomas (lowercase in blogger!) and I'll be bashing xkcd for your entertainment this week, starting with this flow chart.

Lord knows Randall loves his flowcharts, but this reminds me of his Mario Kart pie more than anything, in that it's largely true, in this case among "computer experts" of the house or workplace. Once a computers amateur gets over the fear of misclicking and deleting everything, simple logic and a touch of intuition can solve most problems. I have slotted neatly into a niche, Randall -- well done.

However, as applicable as I find this chart, I have two issues with it. First, it advocates taping an xkcd comic near a computer area, spreading the horrible trend of printed xkcd's to the relatives of its intended audience. Nonsensical ties and science lab fanboys were bad enough; now people who don't even know what xkcd is will associate it with some fictional "in crowd" of tech geniuses.

Second, despite humility of the narration, this chart only strengthens the superiority complex xkcd's fans will have. Not only would linking this to your grandmother say, "I'm done helping you anymore, now go away," it doesn't suggest anything people wouldn't think to do now. Look for a button related to your problem? Google? The chart includes an "ask for help" option -- what do you think the xkcd reader on the answering end is going to do? Link you to the damn chart! As a member of the Half-Assed Tech Support Squad, I sincerely hope that this image doesn't clog help forums everywhere.

Lastly, there's the mention of Megan getting prompted for printer help from her dad. I smell a snarky in-joke towards the real-life Megan who is dating a man old enough to be her father, but I'm terrible with Megan humor, so why don't you tell me what's cooking?

71 comments:

The chart includes an "ask for help" option -- what do you think the xkcd reader on the answering end is going to do? Link you to the damn chart!

This is probably true, and while your criticism is accurate, it still got a smile out of me. I don't have any relatives who are tech-inept enough to need this, which is probably fortunate for both me and them.

I think my main problem with the comic is that the advice is so general and so unhelpful that anyone tech-un-savvy to need this sort of advice is probably too tech-un-savvy to actually derive any sort of benefit from the flowchart (even if they DID manage to get a copy printed).

That's kind of inconsistent with his recommendation to distribute this comic to everyone who needs tech help, because it's how people actually troubleshoot.

Besides, I'm not sure I agree that you don't know what the hell you're doing. Just because you haven't memorized the feature list of every program someone might be using doesn't mean your tech support is random guessing. Even just going by the flowchart, it's not random guessing.

I'm also not sure what you mean by "The advice isn't supposed to be tech-savvy."

Urgh, so much text outside the damn flowchart? Also, while it seems he tries to actually make a useful flowchart, rather than one that is truely funny, this one would never work as it is way too general. Most of the people I know that can't work computers well do this exactly, and it ends up with them inside strange menus or features that they fiddle with in order to fix/do a certain thing, and they always end up having messed up whatever they are working with rather badly. Yet, all the forumites are swooning.

This comic reads like a pale shadow of the old XKCD comics where Randall actually came up with some pretty funny self-reflective insights on computing. This seems like a kind of weak throwback, though... maybe it's just that it's tainted by how crap XKCD has become? Maybe I would've laughed if it was still in the 200's or something.

Also, what I totally hate about it is that it basically just tells people to print it out and hang it up in the office or next to their family's screens and such. That trend was annoying enough when readers kept doing it endlessly on their own, but just flat out telling them to do it? Christ.

Finally, I agree with Jay. Everytime Megan shows up nowadays I just read it as Randall fucking with our minds. (GOOMH!) If that's true, I actually think that's a pretty funny thing of him to do.

Thank god I don't consider myself a "computer person." I can manage just fine without any help whatsoever, but I'd rather be a rube than in the same company as Randall. When will nerds learn that nerd hierarchy is lame even at the top?

I think it's helpful to assume the whole concept of this strip is purely facetious, but then, that might as well be just wishful thinking: most of the "hardcore" fanboys will be taking this very, very serious. Of course, the "tech experts" the comic refers to will relate to the flowchart, but not the un-tech-savvy users! They'll look at it and still not have a clue: it's HEARING the advice that makes the difference. So, yeah, I think it's facetious. It's sort of funny, I guess, but basically a weak throwback to the previous, funnier tech related comics.

Also sorry for being an asshole yesterday. I don't know what was wrong with me. I guess I just needed some sort of release; stuff you don't need to know about, but that still doesn't justify it. I'm sorry.

This comic sucked. Not funny, not insightful, and no art. The whole flowchart thing is a beaten horse already. Didn't he once made a comic that made a fun of flowcharts (something like "How to read flowcharts (in the form of flowchart)"? Fuck flowcharts.

I disagree with the premise, by the way. Just the other day my printer wouldn't print, and my mother asked for help. Turns out the USB cable had gotten unplugged- no amount of random button clicking would have solved it. Two weeks before that my HDD got a bad sector in some critical place so the computer would freeze when booting. This chart doesn't cover getting a Ubuntu LiveCD which you happened to have close by, booting from that, getting the ethernet link and modem to work with Linux, getting on #windows and asking for help (which involves describing the problem -possible/likely hardware failure, which is not an obvious possibility unless you know what hardware failure looks like- and the UBCD), and then being able to follow the instructions.

Hell, the way my scanner works, it's very doubtful you'd figure out how to use it unless you know what you're looking for.

I guess the problem is "button that looks like its relevant". Experience makes an enormous difference in knowing what is relevant, what isn't, what will (reversibly or no) screw up your computer, and what should not screw it up but might anyway due to possible far reaching consequences of your problem, bugs in software, undocumented limitations and such.

And all that aside, your friend/neighbor/relative/loved one has been at this for a while, is frustrated, and really needs to do something much more important than playing with the menu items. Even if it is more efficient in the end, shoving this chart in their face is just mean. It'll probably either take you a minute to fix, or is too difficult for them to figure out on their own anyway.

Lastly, this was the case back in the Win 98 days. Nowadays mainstream software is very user friendly and most people are fairly computer literate, or at least not nearly as liable to panic. Anyone who is confused is probably doing some complicated stuff (IP forwarding, dual boot, FTP upload, monitored network internet access) and should know what they're doing.

I thought flow charts were great when they were overly complicated and full of throw away jokes. Like Stephen Colbert's 'Are you gay?' flow chart in I am America (And so can you!)or some of the flow charts on Yahtzee's website. But both of the xkcd flow charts have been short and unfunny.

The again, I thought xkcd was a humor comic, so I guess I'm 0/2 today.

This comic sucked. Not funny, not insightful, and no art. The whole flowchart thing is a beaten horse already. Didn't he once made a comic that made a fun of flowcharts (something like "How to read flowcharts (in the form of flowchart)"? Fuck flowcharts.

He made a flowchart titled "How to Make Flowcharts" I think, but I don't think it made fun of flowcharts.

Also, I really don't think Randall believes that this is facetious or ironic. I think he just thinks that this is good advice, as evidenced by the utter sincerity exhibited by him and every forumite.

I feel like most of the criticism leveled at this strip is actually directed at the fans.

I'll be the first to admit that xkcd used to be a thick vein of comedy and insight, while lately finding the precious ore requires a lot of sifting. But this is a little bit of what I've been sifting for over the past month or so.

Megan-ing aside, there was a solid punchline in the title text; don't be a curmudgeon for the sake of it. Instead, save your hate for a strip that deserves it: maybe Wednesday's?

That said, if you're unhappy about the size or nature of the comic's fanbase, well, that's a different, larger issue.

"Also, I really don't think Randall believes that this is facetious or ironic. I think he just thinks that this is good advice, as evidenced by the utter sincerity exhibited by him and every forumite."

Yep, I'm starting to believe that. But I swear, if I saw a similar joke in ANY other webcomic, I'd be 100% sure it was irony.

Megan-ing aside, there was a solid punchline in the title text; don't be a curmudgeon for the sake of it. Instead, save your hate for a strip that deserves it: maybe Wednesday's?

That punchline was only "solid" because it's so ancient and well-trod that it's been compressed into a thin, sturdy disc. It also feels more like Randall's cringing, self-abnegating after-the-punchline pun-acknowledgments, where he goes "Yeah, guys, I know it sucks dehh hur hur," than a joke.

I kind of found this a bit condescending and over-simplifying the issue. I mean, most people I know who ask me for computer help know that I just poke around the program, but they're usually terrified of breaking something or trying the wrong thing and not being able to back out of it.

Word is a great example of where just trying random things can monumentally fuck up your document. Oh shit, what is this table doing here? Oh, I'll just hit delete. WTF, why is it not deleting the table but ALL OF MY TEXT? UHH, ctrl+z. WHY THE FUCK DO I HAVE TWO TABLES NOW?

My dream is that eventually Megan will be recognized as Randall's style just as much as his shitty art is. "Dude, stop making Megan jokes. She's just part of the comic, like the art or the intelligence."

It wasn't funny and it was a pain in the ass to figure out. The main problem is that he shows the main problem to be "find a menu item or button". Usually that's not what the problem is. The problem is that something's not working right. Maybe I'm just not getting it.

I've fixed plenty of computers in my lifetime so far, and the googling was never related to a "button". Not only is this unfunny, I think it's stupid.

I'd comment more on the comic, but it's all been said already. While the comic is somewhat true, there is a degree of computer literacy needed before you are capable of making effective educated guesses and taking the right measures to make sure you don't destroy your work in the process of looking for the fix you need.

That Lifehacker place has an article on Let Me Google That For you and they're basically like "While somebody watches the LMGTFY animation, maybe they will learn HOW to Google things properly, like, crap about search strings and keywords. Mumble mumble teach a man to fish, we're assholes."

Never heard about that Lifehacker. Thanks for your introduction, I have a new entry on my list of Websites I WON'T Check Out Further.

I hate that snob attitude from the "tech-savvy". Hate it, hate it, hate it. Mostly because I am fairly "tech-savvy" and I've been asked for help by relatives, relatives of relatives and relatives of relatives of relatives; and even when I don't feel like doing it, at least I *understand* their problems. Meanwhile, those "passive-aggressive" "help" sites often don't cover up the cases when, for example, I'm having some problem with Linux, I go on Google to search for an answer, and get pages and pages of other problems that are only MARGINALLY related to mine. No matter how I try, I can never be specific enough. How's THAT for the magic of Google, huh? Gonna make me a snarky website about that?

Also, not that I want to go on linguistic picking again, but is anyone else bothered about the use of "Google" as a verb?

Would have been much better without the creepy reference to "Megan" in the alt-text. I sometimes feel like I'm reading what will one day become evidence as a stalker's papertrail when I'm reading XKCD.

Eh, this is basically exactly my experience being the 'computer person' at home, except the 'problem' is usually so basic I don't even get to the Google step. There really are plenty of people who don't think to poke around in the menu options for some reason, or are too scared to or something. Past problems have included:

How to get the text of a Word document into an e-mail(Copy/Paste)"Everything suddenly disappeared when I was typing"(Edit/Undo)The screensaver came on

That's right, my mother will scream for me to drop what I'm doing and 'fix the computer' before she even does as much problem-solving as moving the mouse.

Anyways, the "poke around" premise is solid, at least in my experience. The execution could've been better, maybe with boxes like "See if everything's plugged in" or "Look in the Recycle Bin"

I'm sure that people might say it, it just seems unlikely, in the same way that, although somebody might call his younger cousin "little cuz", he almost certainly wouldn't. He'd call him Leroy, or whatever his name is.

It just seems like quite stilted dialogue, although that seems to be the norm for Randall these days.

I don't know where you're getting these misconceptions that the entire world is unlikely to speak a certain way, but you're wrong. I've heard both of those things being said in quite average scenarios. I don't get how you come to the conclusion that it's "stilted dialogue"; it's perfectly normal.

I agree that Randall has had horribly lazily written "stilted" dialogue before ("stupid uterus", etc.). I just don't think this is one of those times. I don't know for sure what it is that makes you feel that the dialogue is stilted in any way, but here are my points:

It's possible this is a difference between the way British people talk and the way American people talk (and I'm not saying I know this for sure), although I would say that in both cultures, people tend to do what Russell describes in that video, ie wait for their turn to talk without really listening to the other person.

Furthermore, as someone with a hearing loss, I find it slightly easier to understand "Hey, it's your father" than to understand "Hey, it's dad". More syllables means you have a better chance of distinguishing the words.

But, of course, who gives a shit that there really are people who speak this way, in supremely normal scenarios, without the flow of the conversation feeling stilted or weird at all? It's always gotta be RANDALL'S BEING A FUCKING LAZY JACKASS, even when he's not.

you guys i totally missed the party, this was a completely shitty week when i was busy being busy

TO SUM UP:

I too felt like the Megan bit was a deliberate shoutout to xkcdsucks--don't we all feel so special?

Also this reminds me a lot of a flow chart that already is hanging around many offices... basically it says the same sort of thing but is more general, like "did it work --> no --> kick it --> how about now" etc.

And fernie, it's okay to be an asshole. You seem to forget often that you are on the Internet.

What the hell is this?

Welcome. This is a website called XKCD SUCKS which is about the webcomic xkcd and why we think it sucks. My name is Carl and I used to write about it all the time, then I stopped because I went insane, and now other people write about it all the time. I forget their names. The posts still seem to be coming regularly, but many of the structural elements - like all the stuff in this lefthand pane - are a bit outdated. What can I say? Insane, etc.

I started this site because it had been clear to me for a while that xkcd is no longer a great webcomic (though it once was). Alas, many of its fans are too caught up in the faux-nerd culture that xkcd is a part of, and can't bring themselves to admit that the comic, at this point, is terrible. While I still like a new comic on occasion, I feel that more and more of them need the Iron Finger of Mockery knowingly pointed at them. This used to be called "XKCD: Overrated", but then it fell from just being overrated to being just horrible. Thus, xkcd sucks.

Here is a comic about me that Ann made. It is my favorite thing in the world.

Frequently Asked Questions

Divided into two convenient categories, based on whether you think this website

Rob's Rants

When he's not flipping a shit over prescriptivist and descriptivist uses of language, xkcdsucks' very own Rob likes writing long blocks of text about specific subjects. Here are some of his excellent refutations of common responses to this site. Think of them as a sort of in-depth FAQ, for people inclined to disagree with this site.